Rockets vs. Knicks Pre-Game 12/16/21

Rockets Aim to Regroup, Host Slumping Knicks

Pit Stop.    Stuck in the Mud.    Heart of a Champion.

The Rockets return home for a brief stop to host the Knicks on Thursday night, before heading back out on the road. Houston is right in the thick of a brutal stretch in  their schedule. The squad is in the midst of playing 8 out of 9 games on the road, with tonight being the home matchup for the Rockets. It’s also Houston’s fifth game in the last seven days. In other words, the Rockets are going to be fighting tired legs, as they did last night in Cleveland, where they looked stuck in the mud. Lucky for Houston, they should expect to get Eric Gordon back in the lineup, who was sorely missed in Wednesday’s loss to the Cavs. Christian Wood may also be returning for some added firepower for a tired Rocket team. The good news is, the Knicks are slumping. After a promising start, New York has lost four straight games. The Knicks are also coming off witnessing history, as Stephen Curry broke the NBA’s three-point record in the Garden in New York’s latest defeat. This game won’t have the anticipation of the Knicks most recent loss, but the Rockets should be excited to be home, if only for a moment.

Houston is honoring the greatest coach in franchise history, Rudy Tomjanovich, tonight. “Rudy T” led the Rockets to back-to-back Championships in the mid-90’s, the first against the New York Knicks. An inspiring figure, Rudy T almost lost his life after being leveled by the Lakers’ Kermitt Washington in a game back in 1978. Tomjanovich recovered even stronger, becoming an All-Star in 1979, and then winning two championships as Houston’s coach in 1994 and 1995. Hopefully these current Rocket players, most of whom where never born when Rudy T took Houston to the promise land, can find inspiration by seeing the crowd react to Tomjanovich’s presence.

In these teams previous meeting on November 20th, the Knicks won 106-99, in Madison Square Garden. The Rockets aim to square up the season series tonight. Julius Randle will once again be New York’s biggest threat, especially if the Rockets are once again missing Christian Wood. The Knicks have recently been hit by COVID, as many unvaccinated teams in the sports world have. New York placed four players on the health and safety protocols: R.J. Barrett, Kevin Knox, Obi Toppin, and Quentin Grimes. So it’s a battle of shorthanded teams tonight in Houston. And it’s a rematch of the 1994 NBA Finals any time these two squads get together. The Rockets will look to replicate what occurred back in that series on Thursday night in Toyota Center.

Toyota Center:  Houston, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

New York Knicks (12-16):  White

Houston Rockets (9-19):  Navy “City Edition”

 

Tip:  7 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW,  NBA League Pass